Tanzanian officials 'did everything' to save Gugu Zulu

20 July 2016 - 09:21 By SHENAAZ JAMAL

Tanzania officials did everything possible to save the life of South African racing car driver Gugu Zulu. Pascal Shelutete, Tanzania National Parks corporate communications manager, said an airlift off Mount Kilimanjaro had been near impossible.Zulu died as a result of breathing complications while trying to summit the mountain on Monday.He was climbing Kilimanjaro as part of the Trek4Mandela initiative. Speaking to The Times yesterday, Shelutete said: "Every effort was made to save his life but, unfortunately, we could not."He said cloudy conditions had prevented the use of an aircraft to airlift Zulu to hospital. "There are helicopters but the challenge was the cloudy weather."Zulu was part of a 42-member team that included Letshego, his wife and long-time partner. They had a daughter last year. Jovial Rantao, the editor of African Independent, who was also on the trek, criticised Kilimanjaro National Park for not having adequate medical facilities and an emergency rescue plan.Shelutete denied this, saying all Tanzanian National Parks had rescue teams and medical facilities.The Nelson Mandela Foundation, organisers of Trek4Mandela, confirmed there were medical provisions, a medical doctor and a rescue team with the group. While there has been speculation as to the cause of Zulu's death, Shelutete said he had died after experiencing breathing problems, known as pulmonary oedema.The South African and Tanzanian governments are finalising plans to repatriate Zulu's body...

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